An urgent change in the law has been demanded to insist that Southport mass killer Axel Rudakubana should never be allowed out of prison to enjoy freedom ever again.
The 18-year-old was jailed for 52 years yesterday at Liverpool Crown Court after he pleaded guilty in the face of clear and overwhelming evidence of murdering three young girls and the attempted murders of eight other children and two adults at a Taylor Swift themed dance and yoga class in Southport on 29th July last year.
He also admitted possessing a knife, making ricin, and possessing a terrorist training manual.
Due to his age, the current law prevented the judge in court from giving him a whole life term.
Southport MP Patrick Hurley said: “In my view, the sentence passed is unduly lenient.
“The crimes he committed were horrific and natural justice demands he spends the rest of his life behind bars.
“I have therefore made a request to the Attorney General to have the sentence reviewed urgently, with a view to making sure he is never released.
“My community deserves nothing less.”
Axel Rudakubana was handed one of the highest minimum custody terms on record after carrying out the sadistic attack.
The punishment is thought to be the longest imposed on a killer of his age.
The Attorney General’s Office said the case had been referred under the unduly lenient sentence scheme, which requires just one request in order for punishments handed out in court to be reconsidered.
Attorney General Lord Hermer and Solicitor General Lucy Rigby have 28 days to decide whether to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal.
Describing the minimum term as “substantial”, Mr Justice Goose, sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, said he will serve “almost the whole of his life in custody”, adding: “I consider at this time that it is likely that he will never be released and that he will be in custody for all his life.”
His words were echoed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who said afterwards that the “vile offender will likely never be released”.
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